Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
A canal with a difference –
You don’t expect to find a scenic canal stretch on a commercial fishery, but that’s exactly what Tunnel Barn Farm offers, as Darren Massey discovered...
Targeting bream on a canal section that’s within a commercial fishery
IF YOU turned up at an unfamiliar commercial fishery for the first time you could take a good guess at what the waters would look like. There’s every chance there will be pools dotted with reed-lined islands, snake lakes and strips of open water that are double banked. But there are a growing number of complexes that offer something completely different such as access to a stretch of canal or river. These natural waters barely get any column inches on websites due to a general lack of interest and they remain a bit of a mystery. While the carp-filled lakes are packed with match and pleasure anglers, rivers and canals that may pass through the fishery have an almost ghostly feel, with barely anyone ever bothering to wet a line. Warwickshire’s Tunnel Barn Farm is one of the nation’s premier commercial fisheries with a reputation for prolific sport.
But very few people will be aware that the Grand Union Canal cuts right through the middle of the venue. In fact, the stretch is so lightly fished that the management struggled to locate the key to the access gate when IYCF made its initial enquiries!
Big-fish haven
When so few people fish a water it can be extremely tricky to work out exactly what stocks the venue holds. Logic tells you it would be something of a gamble to try such an untapped location, but Darren Massey takes a completely different view. The Shakespeare-backed angler is one of the finest canal anglers in the land and believes such raw stretches of water offer a serious chance of a very special catch. “If the stretch has plenty of cover and decent depth then there is no reason why big shoals of fish won’t inhabit the area,” explained Darren. “The stretch at Tunnel Barn has both those attributes and, when I spoke to the fishery owners, I was told they thought it was home to some very big fish including bream to 5lb and carp well into double figures. “Small-fish stocks aren’t what they used to be because of a large zander influx in the past so that means every time the float goes under you can expect to hook something that will accelerate your heart rate in an instant.”
Spoilt for choice
With the promise of big canal fish that had probably never seen a hook before, IYCF was keen to catch up with Darren for a session on the stretch. I’d visited Tunnel Barn Farm on numerous occasions and it felt odd walking away from the carp and F1 bagging action in favour of quality silvers on ‘the cut’. First impressions of the canal were very positive. If this was located in an area of the country where canal fishing was popular, there
was no doubt you’d have to get up early to secure one of the noted hotspots. Plenty of vegetation decorated the far bank, with eye-catching views as you gazed down the venue. It is very scenic. Numerous pegs looked like they had the potential to produce the goods but the scorching conditions on the day played a major part in Darren’s final decision. “It’s around 25 degrees C, flat calm and far from ideal for any kind of fishing, never mind when you are after bream on a canal!” he exclaimed. “This swim has got cover on the far bank that the fish are likely to sit under. In fact, I know there are definitely bream in the area as I saw a couple break the surface as I was walking down the towpath.” Locating the fish was one problem solved but how he would catch them in the stifling heat was another conundrum that needed working out.
Two swim attack
The fish in this stretch are as wild as they come. They don’t get disturbed by anglers and stay alive and grow to impressive sizes by seeking out rich natural food sources. They don’t see maggots, casters, pellets and all the rest of the items that grace our bait trays so finding a combination that appeals to these fish is absolutely vital. “I am going to feed two lines in a slightly different manner to cover my options, with both of them being around a metre off the far bank reeds in just under 3ft of water. “On my left-hand line I will put in three balls of groundbait which is a 50/50 blend of BaitTech Pro Natural and Pro Natural Bream laced with dead red maggots and casters. “I’ll also put a pot of chopped worm with a few red maggots and casters over the top of this. “My right-hand line is primed with micro pellets and a few red maggots.”
On most canal’s that Darren targets a line down the track would also come into play but the sheer volume of boat traffic left him in no doubt that the fish would stay away from the deepest water to avoid the commotion. How the fish would respond was anyone’s guess but with such an array of baits in the peg Darren had given himself every chance of getting a few bites even in the far from favourable conditions he was faced with.
Patience is the key
A visit to Tunnel Barn Farm usual means bites and quality fish going into the net from the opening stages. A somewhat different mindset is needed when on the complex’s stretch of Grand Union. Twenty fish in a day would be a fantastic session but when you take into consideration that all of these would be over the 2lb-mark you begin to realise a memorable canal catch is on the cards. “I keep flicking maggots and casters over the top of each swim every few minutes to add a bit more attraction and draw in fish that may be nearby or even directly over the top of where I am fishing,” explained Darren, picking up his catapult. Starting with a worm and red maggot hookbait cocktail on his left-hand line, the float didn’t show any signs of feeding fish and refused to budge in the first 30 minutes. But his vast experience on canals told him that patience would be key and, after 40 minutes, the action commenced with a pristine 3lb bream going in the net. A second bream, this one slightly bigger, came a few minutes later before a lull in sport led to Darren topping up and switching to the righthand line. Here he used a 4mm expander pellet hookbait that had been left to soak overnight in Bait-Tech Triple-N Stick Mix Liquid. Again, a wait was required before the float eventually went under with another quality skimmer the culprit. This trend continued and, after four hours in sweltering conditions, Darren had put together a highly impressive 35lb haul. Several factors made it obvious that anglers were a rarity on this towpath. Boaters had an almost bemused glare on their faces as they passed Darren and all of the fish were in immaculate condition, more than likely having never before been inconvenienced by any angler. “Thousands of people visit Tunnel Barn Farm each year but it is remarkable to think that only a tiny percentage have ever bothered with its section of the Grand Union. It’s a brilliant stretch of canal and if you are looking for something completely difffferent on your next visit to the fishery then it won’t disappoint,” concluded Darren.
“After 40 minutes, the action commenced with a pristine 3lb bream”